1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of die cutting apparatus and, more specifically, to a die cutter that is particularly well suited for cutting selected sections out of multiple image photographs.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A fast and economical way to prepare portrait photographs for identification purposes, such as on a passport, I.D. credit card or personnel file folder is to use a self-developing multiple image portrait camera of the general type disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,726,198; 3,760,702; 3,774,512; and 3,796,485.
These cameras may include single or twin objective lenses in combination with a fixed or sliding film pack of instant film at the focal plane to provide two portrait images on a single film unit measuring approximately 3".times.4" or four such multiple images on a 4".times.5" film unit.
The individual photographic portraits are preferably severed or cut out of the film unit by means of a die cutting apparatus. In some applications, such as identification photos that are to be submitted with a passport application, the cut out photographs must meet rigid size specifications (U.S.=2".times.2") prescribed by the issuing agency so that accuracy and clean cut edges are very important.
Hand operated die cutting apparatus that may be used for this purpose are, of course, well known in the prior art. However, in general, they do not meet contemporary requirements for low cost, light weight, small size and simplicity of operation and registration of the selected section to be cut out along with accuracy and clean edge cutting.
One important desirable feature is that the operator be able to preview the section to be cut out and accurately register it with the cutting die. U.S. Pat. Nos. 386,456; 685,212; and 3,085,618 provide such a preview feature. However, these die cutters tend to be bulky or oversized in the interest of stability. For example, both of the die cutters shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 386,456 and 3,085,618 use long actuating lever handles that move either the punch or die. Such relatively large devices are not easily and conveniently stored. The die cutter disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 685,212 employed a fixed punch on a base in combination with a die that is built into an elongated lever actuating handle which is pivotally coupled to the base to pivot down on the punch. Not only does the long handle contribute to the excessive size of this device, but the fact that the die follows a pivotal or curved path onto the punch, rather than a straight line perpendicular path, means that the die aperture must be large enough to fit onto the punch without binding thereby limiting cutting accuracy and clean edge cutting performance. Other Examples of cutters that use a pivoting punch or die with its inherent accuracy limitation may be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 545,793 and 1,766,308.
Therefore, it is an object of the invention to provide a relatively compact and small die cutter that is easy to use, requires very little space, provides accurate and clean cuts for cutting out selected sections from a web of material and is especially well suited for cutting out identification portrait images from multiple image photographs.
Other objects of the invention will, in part, be obvious and will, in part, appear hereinafter.